Born with the fire to inspire

There hasn’t been an obstacle that Sai Prasad Vishwanathan hasn’t conquered. Born in India, with physical challenges that force him to walk with the aid of crutches, Sai graduated with honors from Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT) in Hyderabad. A research scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and work toward a master’s degree in engineering followed. “The most important lesson I learned while studying in the U.S. was that education and life are not just about being the best,” Sai says. “They are about constantly becoming better.” Empowered by his experiences in the United States, Sai saw an opportunity to send an inspirational message to the disabled in India. In 2008, he became the first disabled Indian to skydive from 14,000 feet.

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There hasn’t been an obstacle that Sai Prasad Vishwanathan hasn’t conquered. Born in India, with physical challenges that force him to walk with the aid of crutches, Sai graduated with honors from Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT) in Hyderabad. A research scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and work toward a master’s degree in engineering followed. “The most important lesson I learned while studying in the U.S. was that education and life are not just about being the best,” Sai says. “They are about constantly becoming better.” Empowered by his experiences in the United States, Sai saw an opportunity to send an inspirational message to the disabled in India. In 2008, he became the first disabled Indian to skydive from 14,000 feet.

Then he soared higher. As an MBA candidate at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, Sai worked on developing business models that promote employment for the physically challenged and co-founded “Sahasra.” The program provides workshops on preparing for higher learning and life-long mentors, and in 2010, earned Sai the Helen Keller Role Model Person of the Year Award. To date, more than 20,000 students have participated in Sahasra, and it was recognized as one of the top 10 business plans submitted to the Global Social Venture Competition held by the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2011, Sai joined Deloitte U.S. India AERS as a technology risk consultant. “Deloitte is an amazing organization that is open to providing its people with the flexibility to grow in different directions,” says Sai, as his taste for adventure has him looking in a new direction. In recognition of his Sahasra work and interest in developing sustainable solutions to protect earth’s fragile environment, he was selected as one of 30 members of the2041 Antarctic Youth Ambassador Program.

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